This invention relates to a skimmer for use in a melting furnace and, more particularly, to a liquid cooled skimmer for use in the throat of a glass-melting furnace.
Skimmer blocks have been used in the outlets or throats of glass-melting furnaces, especially where the exiting molten glass must be of utmost purity, as when used to form fibers. In the manufacture of continuous textile filaments, a minute piece of batch material that has not become vitreous, commonly called a seed or stone, may cause a break in a filament being attenuated, thereby requiring the bushing operation to be stopped and restarted. A skimmer block positioned in the path of the exiting molten glass such that it extends above and below the surface thereof, acts as a dam to hold back seeds and bubbles formed from volatiles in the glass batch. In the prior art, liquid cooled skimmers have consisted of either circular or rectangular tubing that has been welded together to form a solid skimmer assembly. Such skimmers have been prone to leaks because the thin walls of the tubing do not provide a suitable surface for an adequate weld.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a skimmer that eliminates the weldment problems and the inherent leakage problems in the skimmers of the prior art, thereby insuring a continuous and effective skimming operation.